Science has proven time and again that a huge part of your child’s growth and development takes place in their first six years. What you probably don’t know is that this development includes how your child’s brain grows. It determines how your child will think and feel in the future.
By the time they reach two years, your baby’s brain will be about 80% developed. During these first two years, their brain develops up to 700 to 1,000 new neural connections that influence the speed, adaptation, control of instinct, attention span and even memory.
Beyond raising up your baby to become a responsible person who understands and can interact with their environment, their brain is another thing you should never forget to work on.
There are several ways through which you can contribute to your baby’s healthy brain development. Some of them are:
Talking to them
Feeding them properly
Play handy games
Positive discipline
Read to them
Respond to their child talk
Show them affection
Live in a conducive environment
Besides sending your child to the best childcare in Sydney, here are some ways you can aid the development of your child's brain through their diet.
How Do You Contribute To Your Baby’s Brain Development By Diet?
While each of the aforesaid practices play a key role in your baby’s brain health, you need to understand how vital a proper diet is. This is because at this stage, your baby’s brain develops a protective sheath around nerves which form your baby’s thinking system. Choosing the right food helps them learn things faster and even have a wider scope of reasoning later in life. Pediatricians in Sydney, North Ryde and other parts of the world recommend certain foods that will aid in this task. You can as well trust top North Ryde childcare centres to provide the same to them
These foods, also called brain foods, are:
1. Fish
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an essential fatty acid found in fish, makes it one of the best-recommended brain foods. Your baby’s nervous system depends on omega-3 fatty acids to function normally since it is made mainly of fats.
You should include oily fish and fish products in your baby’s diet as often as you can as they can be absorbed and utilized easily. Some of the common fish best for your baby are salmon, sardines and trout.
2. Eggs
These supply adequate proteins needed for your child’s brain development. This is because eggs are rich in choline which helps your child’s brain cells to communicate with each other and to develop memory. Eggs also have good amounts of lutein which is associated with great cognitive skills later when your child grows up.
3. Greens
Adding green leafy vegetables like spinach, arugula, collard greens, broccoli and kale to your baby’s diet boost their brain development since they contain important levels of nutrients good for brain health. These greens are known to provide your baby’s brain with nutrients like beta carotene, vitamin K, folate and lutein.
4. Yogurt
A serving of unsweetened yogurt in your child’s diet contains enough probiotics that in turn improve their moods. While your baby’s moods may not matter so much, having them on a happy side keeps them from growing up into mentally stressed adults.
5. Nuts
Nuts are the other powerful food for brain power to add to your baby’s diet regularly. Like fish, nuts contain essential fatty acids which help your child’s brain development and prevent age-related cognitive decline when they grow up. Nuts also help in memory creation helping your baby remember easily.
6. Apples
You may be fond of the saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ but have you ever thought of how much oxidants a single fruit contains? Apples have beneficial antioxidants like quercetin which block free radicals from damaging your child’s brain cells. Radical cells inhibit your baby’s brain development through cell damage.
7. Berries
You do not have to worry about your baby’s health whenever you give them a snack. Berries come in many flavours all most likely to appeal to your baby and with important components too.
Berries like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries are rich in antioxidants that prevent inflammation amongst your child’s brain cells.
While all these foods do a lot of good to your baby’s brain health, you should be sure to serve them in the right amounts and alongside foods necessary for the growth and development of their bodies. To know what best to serve your baby and in the right amounts, always seek advice from the best childcare in North Ryde including g those in Sydney and in North Ryde.